Report from PPC Land
In Brief – Canada-based Index Exchange, a digital AdTech business founded in 2003, has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google that aims to build on US District Judge Leonie Brinkema’s April 2025 ruling that Google willfully maintained monopoly power in publisher ad server and ad exchange markets. Index Exchange’s CEO testified on behalf of the US Department of Justice during that antitrust trial. The complaint alleges that Google’s conduct suppressed Index Exchange’s ability to compete despite the smaller competitor offering lower fees and transparent pricing, including claims that Google used several covert policies designed to advantage AdX and entrench its ad exchange monopoly, depriving competitors fair market access. Index Exchange is seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief.
Context – Judge Brinkema’s ruling siding with the DoJ was the latest in a string of major antitrust setbacks for Google. That trial is now in the remedies phase with the DoJ arguing that Google should be forced to sell off AdX. In September, the European Commission hit Google with a $3.45 billion fine for anti-competitive AdTech practices. EU competition chief Teresa Ribera said, “At this stage, it appears that the only way for Google to end its conflict of interest effectively is with a structural remedy, such as selling some part of its AdTech business.” As it loses antitrust decisions, Google will face a growing number of “follow-on” civil lawsuits claiming damages. A series of such complaints have been filed in Europe by online comparison-shopping sites aiming to win damages against Google following the final resolution of the European Commission’s Google Shopping antitrust case. A Swedish court recently heard arguments in the lawsuit brought by Pricerunner, a Klarna-owned shopping platform, with the company now claiming $8 billion in damages by Google. Local search platform Yelp, a leading US-based corporate critic of Google, has filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in US federal court that hopes to build on District Judge Amit Mehta’s ruling that Google’s general search service is a monopoly.